The Wind in His Hair, So to Speak
by belfryblackcloud
Summary: The frosty captain of Squad 10 does have fun, sometimes...


**This is my first published fan fic. It's a nice, simple one shot, just Hitsugaya and my OC. Since I'm about as likely to met Hitsguaya as own a Nissan GTR, I will point out that I own neither Bleach, nor a Nissan. I've done some editing to change some proofreading errors. **

The engine purred under the cloudy fall sky. Hitsugaya slapped the paddle shift into the next gear. The purr became a growl and the car powered forward. He could feel the grin widen on his face. Even with the windows up, the wind shear noise was intense. The road ahead of him was black and empty. Autumn's bare trees swayed in the light breeze. Though he was not normally one to indulge in frivolous endeavors, he got to enjoy driving so rarely, even he could do it and not feel guilty about paperwork.

Next to him, in the sculpted, leather seat, his companion _was_ actually purring. She sat with one white skinned arm in her lap, the other resting against the wood-trimmed armrest of the door. She turned her head to share in his wide, toothy grin.

"So," she purred at him, "whadda think?" she ran a hand over the smooth leather wrapped dash.

Hitsugaya looked down at the instrument panel in front of him. He was a little shocked to see the speedometer read 201 km/h. The needle had slipped past the bright red line in numbered arc. He looked back to the passenger, brows a bit furrowed.

"Oh, don't worry about that." The large white feline ears on top of her head swiveled a bit forward in motion of amusement. "I had that silly speed limiter taken off about 10 minutes after I got the car." She brushed a white, clawed hand through her wavy lavender mane of hair. "I mean, if they didn't want you to take it off," she looked at him slyly, "then why does the speedometer _go_ up to 340 km/h?"

Not much about the living world made sense to the young captain. Sometimes he assumed it was because he had spent so little time in it; but when he spent time with Lady Katerine, he became convinced it was because they (the living) were all insane. Why, he wondered to himself, would any sane person _need_ to travel at these speeds? On the other hand, it was the most exhilarating sensation he had ever experienced, and just like some pathetic drug addict, he took every opportunity he could to experience it.

Hitsugaya shook his head softly. This newest contraption was even faster, lighter and stronger then the last time he had seen the feline demon. She was no lightweight when it came to combat, but he could understand her fascination with these "sports" cars. There was an undeniable pull from something with this much power; and unlike most cats, demons, or soul reapers, this kind of power or speed was something she could never simulate on her own, especially not with that mangled ankle.

The road before them started to rise, making it look like the gray clouds were descending on them. The sound from the engine shifted to a throatier growl as the car raced up the incline. Next to him, the youthful looking demon's ears pricked forward and she seemed to thrill at the change in the engine's song. When they made these runs, the radio was left off, the sound of the vehicle the only music necessary.

Unintentionally, Hitsugaya caught a glance at the little clock in the center of the black, shinny dashboard. Time in the world of the living was never something he really paid attention to; rarely did it play into a mission other than is it daylight or is it night. Then he realized they had been racing along this winding mountain road for over two hours. That was not even counting the one hour drive it took to get to this area; prized by Lady Katerine for its lack of law enforcement agents. She had once explained to him that the cops, a slang term for the law enforcement agents, knew why people drove up here. If you killed yourself speeding along these roads, they were not going to bother to try and stop you. Point of fact, on a few occasions, they had passed spirits of those who had done just that. Usually, on the more leisurely ride back down the mountain, Hitsugaya would stop and preform a conso for the poor souls. He was in no position to stand in judgment of them, the only thing that kept himself and his female demon friend from getting killed here was there "unique" relationship relative to death, i.e. he was already dead, and she was immortal.

Having noticed the time, the white haired captain now could not help but notice that even though the white tiger demon was smiling and purring, her purple striped tail was flicking and twitching. His brow must have furrowed a bit, because she suddenly caught his glance and put a reassuring clawed hand on his arm.

"Don't worry about it," she shifted around a bit in the rigid passenger seat. "I get to drive this thing all the time, and time is something I have plenty of."

Except, he thought to himself, that noticing that she was starting to get what she referred to as "bucket seat cramps" he had become aware of his own back starting to cramp up. Driving at this speed was a lot like being tensed up, waiting for the first strike in a battle; but for hours. The clouds had started to dissolve, and sunset was just starting to darken the sky anew. Random, unwanted, thoughts of the work waiting on his desk started to pester him. The inevitable sly look from Rangiku also came to mind.

"Damn little man," Lady Katerine teased him lightly, "you're fun meter really does fill up quickly. You realize you actually missed my last car, it's been so long since we did this?"

"Really?" Hitsugaya was surprised to hear that. It was another example of the difference in the speed at which time passed for them. From his perspective, he still had to contend with people assuming he was a child, even thought he had been a captain for close to a hundred years. How she could handle the pace of the living world, on a soul reaper's time line? It did explain why she was always so impatient with procedure when working with the Gotei 13. Alternatively, it must make the time she spent in the world of the living seem even longer.

Hours later, back in town at a small cafe, Hitsugaya and Lady Katerine sat at an outside table, coffee and cake in front of each of them. He noticed, with a bit of awe, the change in the feline demon once the sun went down. Her white and purple striped flesh seemed to glow in the dark, her lavender hair shining like a silken mane. All the uncomfortable tail twitching stopped and her green eyes shone with that unnatural reflection of a cat's eyes. She was delicately licking an errant drop of icing from her cinnamon bun off her hand when she suddenly looked up, ears swiveling in all directions. The frosty captain caught the presence of the same spiritual pressure that had caught her attention.

"It's all right." Hitsugaya broke the peaceful silence, knowing that Kurosaki was going to demolish it anyway.

"Hey! Toshiro!" The blonde, unnecessarily tall, substitute soul reaper called out to them from across the street. Hitsugaya couldn't suppress a tired sigh. Lady Katerine made some amused meow sound at hearing anyone address him so informally.

The area around the little table dropped a few degrees in temperature, "I guess it's back to work…"


End file.
